I feel a little silly doing a hair tutorial because I am no Barefoot Blonde or makeup hair artist, but I did have a few people ask me how I do my hair, so I thought I would share a little tutorial with you guys. As I said, I’m so not professional, so I don’t have a youtube channel or video for you guys. If you guys are interested, I may try to put together a short little video. I love curling my hair when it’s a day old. If I washed it the night before (I almost always wash my hair at night and let it air dry), I will add some texturizing spray or dry shampoo to give it some texture. In the picture below my hair hadn’t been washed for two days, so it had some good natural oils to hold the curls well. As you can see from the first picture too, my hair has some natural wave to it, so it drys less straight usually. 1. I start by teasing the top at my roots with this brush and…

*This post was sponsored by Framebridge. All opinions are my own. Photography is something our family holds very close. It’s something we enjoy doing together and most of all, it captures moments and memories that we never want to forget. Over the past six years, we’ve worked on refining our style and implementing some of those captures into our home. You guys may remember I shared last year about our special beach trip with Cove – you can read it all here. Long story short, Ian surprised me on the last day of our trip and took us to a little beach in between Crystal Cove State Park (which we named Cove after) and Victoria Beach (one of my favorite beaches in Laguna). He remembered I had wanted to dedicate Cove on our own in a place that reminded us of the big picture and not ourselves. We had previously dedicated him with our friends and family at our church. Ian planned a little evening, which included reading and praying over Cove and watching the sunset together. It was actually the first…

Okay, so now that the secrets out and I’m not doing Whole30 with Ian, I have to share that I have been craving bagels and sweets almost uncontrollably, which I never ever usually want. In fact, we went out late one night and picked up stuff to make a funfetti cake because I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I feel a teeny bit bad that I have been eating all this food in front of Ian, but he’s had one or two cheat days since we started so he’s gotten in on the funfetti fun. I am really hoping to get the cravings under control soon so I don’t become a whale. When you don’t want to eat anything, you eat what you can eat. And for me, that’s Art’s Bagels down the street, haha. In the past, I have always been a September 1st means fall kind of girl. Even if it was 100 degrees in Georgia. That means pulling out my faux pumpkins, garland and all the decor I have. This year, I haven’t even started pulling out stuff and it’s late…

Ian and I are so excited for two scoops of sweet baby boys! That’s right, we are having a little boy! My heart is so excited to see Cove have a little brother so close in age to him, and I am so happy God wanted me to be a boy mom. Boys just steal your hearts and do they love their mama’s. It’s so funny to think that this girly girl who thought she would grow up to have the all little girls will now never have tutus and princess tea time, but a house full of little men. But it really is amazing that God knows what we need more than we know ourselves. It is such an honor to be able to raise two strong men for His kingdom. Bring on the skateparks, race cars and action movies! I am so over the moon. Thank you so much for all your prayers and kind words over the past few weeks. I hope to share a name with you soon! We’ve got quite a few months to go…

It took about 9-10 weeks for the news of our new arrival to sink in. Not because we weren’t excited, but I think we were just surprised and it felt a little surreal. We had our second appointment about a week ago and since the baby was hiding a bit, we couldn’t hear it’s heartbeat on the doppler. We got to have a little ultrasound and for some reason, in that moment, it all sunk in. I could see their little hands moving by their head and that heart beat we heard at our first appointment was still loud and clear. We also did some DNA testing to find out the sex. We’re hoping to get our results back this week (so no, this dress is no indication of what the gender is) and I am still in the dark as much as you guys are… Since last week, my head has been in the clouds with all of it. Planning, dreaming and thinking about what it will be like to be a family of four. It’s made me so sentimental of the…

I have to admit, we have been using Kroger ClickList way more than we actually go to the grocery store, but sometimes you just have to walk around Target. Am I Right? And we probably go to Costco about once every three weeks to get a lot of our bulk goods and almost all of our meat. So while the drive-thru grocery store concept is still my favorite, going to the grocery store is still inevitable. I thought I would share five tips for surviving the grocery store with minimal breakdowns. *Also, I am going to point out, it doesn’t matter what you do, there are still going to be those days that the odds aren’t in your favor and you’re running down the aisle scrambling to get what you need before there are tears from both you and your kid. So please don’t think that me writing this post means we don’t have bad days and I don’t run into aisle caps racing around the store. (Yes, that really happened) Park next to the carts. Although my mom always taught…

This post was sponsored by Crisco® Coconut Oil as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own. Anyone else have cravings for southern comfort food? Right before we started Whole30 I visited my grandmother, who makes the best biscuits I’ve ever had in my life. My mom makes a close second. I have watched her make them a thousand times, and still cannot get mine to turn out like hers. She doesn’t follow a recipe of course, ha. So with us starting Whole30, I thought we could splurge on some biscuits and fried chicken for dinner, which I want to say, since I am pregnant, I’m doing a modified version meaning – I eat whatever I feel like, which is usually bagels… Sorry Ian… Since I don’t normally have buttermilk in my fridge, we headed to Target after church to pick up some of the ingredients we needed. Instead of using Crisco shortening, which is what my grandma uses, I decided to try Crisco® Refined Organic Coconut Oil since we don’t…

That’s right! We are so blessed and thankful for the gift of another sweet baby. Cove is finally coming around to the idea that the baby is in my belly and not his, but it was pretty cute for him to lift up his shirt and point to his stomach when we asked ‘where the baby is?’ I guess you could say it was a bit of a surprise, but an answer to prayers too. I won’t go into the long of it, but I had some health issues that led me to believe it wasn’t in the cards for a while. We had both come to a place where we were fine with waiting and knew that God’s plan was ultimately and always better than our own. A few short months later I had a gut feeling and ran to the store to take a pregnancy test which ended up being positive. Cove and I both got to surprise Ian who was so excited. It has all been so wonderful and we are so excited to meet him or…

I wouldn’t say I am a “late” or “lazy” person, but having a kid has basically cut my “getting ready” time in half most days. Sometimes it feels like there is literally no time. Have you ever seen that meme “My kids look like baby gap models, but I look like a Walking Dead extra”? Yeah, I totally get that. Over the past year, I’ve gotten better at learning to throw together looks and trying to stay polished even if that means I only got to see my self in the mirror for under five minutes. So I thought I’d share some tricks and tips for throwing a look together when you’ve got fifteen minutes to get out the door. Face SKIN: I don’t wear foundation. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with wearing it, I just never have, so I don’t worry about too much other than washing my face, moisturizing and putting a little bit of cream under my eyes. Having to apply face makeup and contouring is an art, but not for the fifteen minutes until your out…

I am truly not a great baker. I love the idea of baking, but I am a much better cook than baker. But, baking with other people is so much fun. Cove has finally gotten to the age where he loves to help in the kitchen. He usually is more helpful when it comes to helping us load and unload the dishwasher and organizing the Tupperware, hah. If I am making something and have some extra time, I try to include him as much as possible. I think it’s so important for all kids to learn how to work and cook simple things in the kitchen as they grow. After all, the point is to train them so they can do that one day in their own homes right? This past weekend, we decided to whip up some lemon butter cookies for our church’s cookout. I thought it would be fun to do it together as a family. I am normally a chocolate chip cookie girl through and through, but I really wanted to try out these new OXO Cooki…

Is it just me or is anyone else ready for some of that cool crisp Fall air? I’m not one to wish away summer, but I am so ready for all things Fall, including being able to walk outside without suffocating. I have been loving this dress all summer. It’s the perfect straight cut and fun gingham pattern. I paired it with this jean jacket and my favorite clogs. I love the dresses you can transition into Fall when it doesn’t really feel like Fall yet, and this is definitely one of them. Also wanted to share a few things of my favorite Friday links: Is anyone else super excited about all the new releases to Netflix this month? I mean Beauty and The Beast!? I am so excited. One of my favorite sides has got to be Mexican Street Corn. We usually mix it in the skillet after I grill the corn, but I love this recipe from Lauren Conrad. Speaking of the 90’s and dresses that look like Rachel Green in my last post, this popped up on my Facebook…

Some people walk into motherhood gracefully as if they were playing the harp in a long formal gown, I on the other hand, walked into it like a 2nd grader blowing random notes into a recorder clutzing around the house. My life pre-baby was a great deal different. Hair curled, outfit pressed and hot coffee in tow, I would head to my full time job as a Marketing Director. As my Type A personality led me, outfits were planned, pillows were perfectly fluffed and my day planner was always organized. When we lost our first, I learned to relinquish some of the control. God taught me in a huge way that my plans were not always what He had for me. Then we got pregnant with Cove. It was like nine months of pure bliss (if you don’t count the morning sickness or utter exhaustion), but still pure bliss. Organizing and decorating his nursery, talking about what our perfect Saturday mornings would be like and how everything would basically be normal, we’d just have this cute little side kick we’d raise and…

Besides the 90’s, this outfit reminds me of the eclipse for some reason so I saved it for today. This silk dress from Two Feathers is so easy to style. I dressed it down here with a t-shirt and my old skool vans, but I plan on wearing it with some strappy heels and a leather or suede moto jacket for date night. As you can probably tell, I am a huge fan of 90’s trends right now. We are currently re-watching Friends at night while we work out and I have noticed so many trends that have circled back already. What are your plans for watching the eclipse? I have been so freaked out about going blind that I was nervous to even watch it. We got some glasses and just plan on watching it from home, but I may not watch for long because I am that scared. To be honest, I think what I am most excited about is the Midnight Eclipse Doughnut from Krispy Kreme… I know this may be a shocker, but I actually do not…

Hey Everyone! It’s been a minute since I’ve shared a thoughts on things post. I’ve considered sharing what I’ve been learning about boundaries with you for a while. I even considered writing a whole blog post on it. But honestly, I’ve struggled with boundaries the majority of my life and felt like I needed to just sit on what I’ve been learning instead of trying to explain all the revelations I’ve had. Let me rewind… Total transparency here, please take what you read and know that it’s coming from a place of vulnerability and openness because I do not have it all together. Boundaries Last year, I was struggling with some stomach issues. I lost quite a bit of weight and kept needing blood tests to see if it was from abnormal hormones, thyroid issues, etc. We could never find any answers. I had a doctor tell me it was due to unconscious stress, and I was like, “Yeah, well I am actually pretty happy. So I don’t think that’s it…” Well, when every door seemed to be shutting in my face and…

It didn’t take long for us to feel at home at The King and Prince Beach & Golf Resort. The only beach front hotel on St. Simons Island greeted us with the most beautiful beach castle elevation, surrounded by palm trees and Spanish moss. The Lobby, which was recently renovated in 2013, is just beautiful and has the most stunning interior design. We checked into a North Beach Villa with two bedrooms and two baths, with a fully equipped kitchen and large living area. It was perfect for our little family for the long weekend. They have a lot of other great options on the property, from single rooms to guest houses. Cove and I immediately found the big bed with the ocean view and made ourselves comfortable. It didn’t take long before he was jumping up and down and we made a little game out of it. We got very little sleep this trip due to a very active and excited toddler, so a comfortable bed made a world of difference when we did finally get some shut eye. A lot…

On our way to the beach, we decided to extend our trip 1 day and do a quick trip to Savannah to break up the drive. Ian and I have been to Savannah before, but we had never brought Cove and thought it would be fun to wander the city with him. It was incredibly hot, and Georgia humidity really doesn’t help. But we made the most of it and stopped for cold treats several times. Savannah’s history and Spanish moss make it one of the most quaint and charming of places. We love that it’s a walking city and you can stop at a park / square every few blocks. Cove wanted to jump in every water fountain and had so much fun running around, he ended up passing out on Ian’s shoulder as we walked by the river front market, which is becoming habit as we travel. Since it was such a quick trip, I thought I’d share some of our favorite places and things to do in case you’re making a trip there soon. It is a perfect…

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Hello!

We are Ian and Victoria: Jesus followers, husband and wife, father and mother, photo takers, travelers and adventure seekers. This is a little glimpse into our lives in Atlanta, GA and around the world.